


Blind Date

by Jb2ndMom



Category: GOT7
Genre: Best Friends, Blind Date, Clumsiness, F/M, Fluff, Surprises, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-06-26 15:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15666246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jb2ndMom/pseuds/Jb2ndMom
Summary: Jaebeom and his friend are both set to go on blind dates. What happens when they find themselves at the same place. Fluff ahead!





	Blind Date

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in honor of Jaebeom's 25th birthday after receiving a prompt from Jools, my co-leader in the Im Jaebum (JB) Amino app community. Thanks for the idea!

 

The young lady boarded the bus and proceeded to an empty window-seat near the back. Fortunately, she was holding on to the back of a seat when the driver braked suddenly. Divers in Seoul were notoriously bad and the snowfall last night only made matters worse; that and the fact that some elderly drivers seemed to be of the opinion that red lights were merely suggestions.

Successfully taking her seat without a mishap, the girl peeled off her gloves, unwound the scarf from around her neck, and loosened the top few buttons of her parka. The bus was chilly, but not nearly as bad as outside and she wanted the benefit of the extra layers for the walk from the bus stop after the 20 minute ride.

Looking out the window, the girl smiled. She was a bright-eyed college student in her senior year. Tall by Korean standards and slender, with a tiny waist, delicate hands and a small face, she was deemed beautiful by most who met her. She had bright dark-brown, almost black, eyes and a smile that was sweet and genuine. In addition to the gloves, coat, and scarf, she carried a large bag filled with class course work.

For the fourth time since sitting down, the girl checked her watch. She mentally slapped herself for running late. It was rare to find time to see her best friend and every moment was precious, but for some reason she was always five to 10 minutes late for everything. Though she was late, she knew her friend would wait. It was almost expected. One would be late and the other would wait.

Having a friend since middle school was special to the girl, since she often found it hard to break into new relationships, and she smiled to herself at the thought of him. Every time they met up, even though recently it was only about once every month, they slipped into easy conversation as if time had stood still and they'd seen each other just the day before. They'd both started college together, but that lasted only a semester when her friend had to switch to online classes because of work schedules. She's wished it had lasted longer as they were able to chat and get together almost every day that semester. That was something they hadn't been able to do since middle school.

As the bus neared her destination, the girl buttoned up her coat, coiled the scarf in place around her neck, and donned her gloves to face the cold. She rang the bell and when the bus came to a jerky halt she descended the stairs to the awaiting side walk.

The girl was careful to make sure her feet were firmly planted before letting go of the hand grip provided near the exit door of the bus. Taking tentative steps in the direction of the café where she was meeting her friend, she tucked her nose and mouth behind the woolly scarf for protection, thankful for the hood on the parka.

She made her way carefully down the icy sidewalk, battling between the desire to move faster so she could be with her friend and the knowledge that to do so would probably result in further delays and a visit to the ER, since she'd gone for fashionable boots with a heel rather than practical ones designed for the winter weather. Her head was down as she walked, partly to keep the cold wind at bay and partly to focus on her footfall. Every step was greeted with the crunch of her boots against the crusty snow and ice on the sidewalk. As she reached the entrance of the café, she took a moment to look up and survey her surroundings.

Eyes lifted to the sky, the girl delighted in seeing the snow flurries that danced in the air. She marveled at the size of the snowflakes that were the size of quarters, yet seem light and fluffy enough that they were twirling in the wind and seemingly never making landfall. Before entering the café, the girl carefully stomped her feel to dislodge as much of the snow that stuck to her boots as she could.

Entering the café, the girl spotted her friend in an instance. His broad back and shoulders appeared even more obvious when contrasted with that of the rest of the patrons. His back was to her, and he was still wearing a camel colored coat. 

Inwardly, she smiled as she saw that his hair was its natural black. Though she liked the other colors he periodically sported, black was her favorite. There was something dangerous and daring about him when he had it that color.

Picking up speed, since she remembered that she was running late, the girl hit a patch of snowy slush that had been tracked in by someone else, and she began to slip and slide across the floor, coming to a stop with a bang against her friend's back. He didn't seem particularly surprised by this at all.

"Hello Grace!" he said, acknowledging her abrupt presence. "Nice to know some things never change."

He was the only one who called her Grace. It was a nickname he'd given her ages ago because of how clumsy she was. Funny thing was, he was often just as clumsy, except when on stage. When performing, he was flawless. Other times though, he was prone to bump his knees into tables, burn himself on flames, walk into walls, and loads of other klutzy actions.

"Sorry I'm late. Again." She replied.

"No worries. If you arrived on time I'd worry it was the end of the world. Besides, you know I'll always wait for you." As he smiled, his eyes disappeared into thin crescent slits and then his laughter transitioned into a laugh.

'Grace' took a seat and, almost instantly, a server stopped by with a Hazelnut Latte and a piece of Tiramisu.

"Yum!" she exclaimed. "How do you do that though? I'm always late, but you inevitably arrange to have my coffee and cake delivered right as I show up."

"Trade secret," replied the young man who leaned over and said, "Can I have one bite, please?'

The girl laughed. "Jaebeom, 'Mr. One Bite' is what I should call you."

The guy reached for the fork, but Grace batted his hand away. "Not a chance. I'll get you a bite. You have a mouth that can unhinge like an anaconda. A bite by your standards would be nearly the entire piece!"

With that, she took her fork and cut off a generous portion of the pastry and held it up for him to take. Instead, he shook his head side to side and pursed his lips. Doing his best aegyo, reserved for only a select few people, he then opened his mouth indicating that she needed to feed it to him.

"Goodness. What do ya think this is, a KDrama?" asked the girl rhetorically, before placing the Italian delicacy into the mouth of her friend.

Conversation flowed freely between the two. They caught up on the events of the past several weeks, discussed her classes for the upcoming semester, and his plans for some new songs he was composing, as well as sharing what books they were reading at the moment. It was always interesting to hear what the other was reading, and not uncommon for one or two out of five books being the same, even without discussing the selections beforehand.

"When do you have to leave?" Jaebeom asked after an hour or more of conversation. He always felt their time together passed so swiftly.

Credit Jeremy Rosauer AKA Jeremy Roses

Looking at her watch, Grace sighed, and noted that she had to leave in about half an hour.

"Why? I thought you had no classes this afternoon or tomorrow? I was hoping to at least spend a couple more hours with you," Jaebeom commented, sounding a bit disappointed to say the least.

"My mom's taking me shopping. She and Dad have decided that I need to date and have set me up on a blind date for tonight. Mom says I need to wear something nice, so she wants to buy me something new. I guess they think this is going to be one of those 'marriage meetings.' He's supposed to be a real catch, but they won't tell me anything about him, not even his name, age, or what he does. Personally, I'm just in it for the meal!"

Jaebeom looked a little despondent, but commented, "Guess our parent still think alike. Mine have also set me up on a blind date. They think I need the stability of a relationship that I can't have without marriage. Something about having someone to come home to when I'm done for the day and back from tour. They don't seem to get that I'm fine. I mean, sure I'd like to see you more frequently, but it's not like our friendship has a problem because we can't see each other every day."

As he said this, he briefly thought how nice it would be to see Grace every day after work instead of just once or twice every month or so, but let the thought go. Truth be told, he felt a pang of jealousy at the thought of her going on a blind date with some guy, especially one he couldn't check on.

As their time came to an end, they walked to the exit together and gave each other an embrace before heading in separate directions. As Grace entered a cab to head off and meet her mom, she momentarily reflected that the goodbye hug had lasted a bit longer than what would be considered acceptable for friends, then dismissed the thought as absurd and set her mind on the night ahead.

~~~~°~~~~

Jaebeom sat in the secluded booth of the restaurant wondering when his blind date would show up. She was already late. This didn't bode well. All the information he had from his parents was from a text he'd received not long ago stating she'd be easily recognizable from the red coat she'd be wearing. Briefly he wondered what he'd do if two ladies arrived wearing red coats and decided he'd feign innocence and go up to the prettier one. He also wondered how much longer he'd have to wait before considering her a no-show.

Grace alighted from the cab, straightened her coat and approached the entrance of the restaurant, half hoping that her tardy arrival would mean that her date had already left or would set such a poor impression that there wouldn't be need for a second meeting. Entering the dimly lit room, she glanced around nervously. Her mom had instructed her that her date would approach her upon seeing the red coat she wore; a newly acquired item from that afternoon's shopping spree.

As her eyes became adjusted to the lightly illuminated surroundings, Grace spotted a figure walking towards her. Even though all she could make out was his silhouette, she knew immediately to whom the form belonged.

'God. Why does he have to be here on his blind date too? I can't take seeing him with someone else and at the same time have to try making nice with some stranger my parents think I should marry,' thought Grace, frantically looking for an escape.

Jaebeom has been thrilled, and relieved, when Grace came in the door wearing a red coat; one she probably purchased with her mom that afternoon for the occasion, as it wasn't one with which he was familiar. As he approached, he could finally read her facial expression in the light reflecting from the side. He'd hoped she would be as happy as he was, but could tell she was less than pleased by the situation.

"Grace," he offered in a soothing and husky voice, filled with emotion. He gave her a pained smile and continued, "I didn't know our parents were planning this. Sorry you're disappointed."

Jaebeom's body language sagged to match his spirits. "If you prefer, we can just continue our conversation from lunch, have dinner, and then tell our parents you weren't interested in me that way, if that's what you want."

Taken off guard and trying to piece together the meaning of Jaebeom's words, Grace literally took a step back. Stumbling over air, she tripped and started to fall.

Jaebeom deftly caught her in mid fall. Years of experience paid off as he moved on autopilot. Looking down into her charcoal eyes, he detected something he couldn't identify. With an awkwardness they'd never felt before, they proceeded to their booth.

Grace hadn't responded to his question, so after a minute or two of uncomfortable silence, Jaebeom ventured hopefully, "So, what'll it be? Best friends or fiancé?"

Turning to Jaebeom, Grace responded with a _single_ word.

~~~~°~~~~

 

 


End file.
